Plague of violence against transit workers must be addressed by federal action

On Oct. 26, Bernard Gribbin, a U.S. Army veteran, was murdered on the job while driving a bus in North Philadelphia. A passenger came up to him without warning and shot him six times, taking time between shots to see if Gribbin had died yet. 

Weeks earlier, subway station agent Baboo Singh, a 74-year-old grandfather, was standing on a platform in New York City when a man attacked him from behind without warning. The assailant struck Singh in the head, knocked him to the ground and kicked him multiple times. Singh suffered a cut above his right eye, along with fractures to his nose and other facial bones.  

In Ann Arbor, Mich., an unhinged bus rider grabbed the on-board fire extinguisher and threatened to bash bus operator Sania Coleman as she sat in shock and fear at the steering wheel.  

All across the country, transit workers are outrageously getting attacked and abused every single day. They are being harassed, menaced, spat upon, beaten up — even shot and killed. 

According to data from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), in 2021 there were more than 345 assaults on transit workers — including bus drivers, station agents, track workers, cleaners and others who just showed up to work.  

The real picture, however, is far more horrific. That 2021 data stems from an outdated federal reporting metric that severely undercounts the number of assaults — and completely ignores many shameful incidents where physical or mental trauma are inflicted. 

The numbers will likely soar when data collected with stricter reporting requirements are released later this year.  

But whatever the true numbers turn out to be, it’s unquestionably clear that the plague of violence against this vital workforce has to be addressed by federal action. 

That’s why The Transport Workers Union of America welcomed the FTA’s recently issued General Directive to urban transit agencies regarding assaults. Once finalized, this first-of-its-kind directive will require every such agency in the country to take several actions: 

• Analyze the cause of assaults in their systems. 

• Use the analysis to craft a plan to prevent violence in conjunction with boots-on-the-ground workers. 

• Submit to the FTA both the analysis and the safety plan so it may develop further safeguards. 

The directive — which was preceded by aggressive advocacy by The TWU and our trade union allies — is a good first step. Such government instructions are common in every other mode of transportation as safety regulators work to address national threats across many different geographies. 

Going forward, however, the FTA must make sure the agencies actually involve workers in the process. No one knows the transit environment and its safety risks better than the workers who interact with the riding public and deliver bus, subway and light rail service every day and every night.  

The FTA also must ensure agency safety plans aren’t just documents sitting on shelves gathering dust. Agencies need to implement tangible improvements that will better safeguard their employees, not just sketch out ideas or make empty promises.  

Regulators do have an enforcement mechanism. The directive states federal funding could be reduced for non-compliance.  

That’s not all. 

Congress directed the FTA to establish a minimum safety standard for assault protections in 2015.   

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, enacted in 2021, included FTA requirements related to mandated worker-management safety committees and government oversight. These rule making tasks must be prioritized and completed by the FTA.

Federal action can’t come soon enough. The violence in many systems has reached a point where both workers and riders are actively leaving for fear of their own safety. Nationwide, transit systems are averaging only 77 percent of their pre-pandemic ridership while simultaneously struggling to hire and retain workers. These pressures are driving many agencies to the edge of fiscal cliffs that will decimate local economies. Unless our transit systems can be made safer, many agencies will face massive service cuts — a fiscal solution that will increase crowding, extend wait times, and decrease the utility of public transportation. In short, this financial expediency is more likely to make the problem worse and start a downward spiral that forces even more workers and riders out of these systems. 

Just as importantly, federal action is needed to stop the widespread suffering and pain.  

After all, Bernard Gribbin, Baboo Singh and Sania Coleman are more than just statistics. They are victims who should have been able to go to work and return home to their families unscathed.

John Samuelsen is president of Transport Workers Union International.